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S P E C I m E N 



OF THE 






Containing 126 Sketches of Eminent Men and Women, and 
nearly 70 Portraits and other Engravings. 




J.N^.OV^P.'i'^'^"^- 



JUST PUBLISHED, IN ONE LARGE OCTAVO VOLUME, 
AND READY FOR DELIVERY TO SUBSCRIBERS. 

THREE DOLLARS PER COPY. 



WILLIAM HUNT, 
JVo. 5§ State Street^ •llbany., JV IT, 



THE 



AMERICAN 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 




Green and quiet as a land of dreams, p. 9. 



BY WILLIAM HUNT. 



VOL. I. 



ALBANY: 
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 

No 58 State Street, 
1848. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by 

WILLIAM HUNT, 

in the clerk's ofTice for the Northern District of New York. 



J. MUNSELL, PRINTER, 
ALBANY. 



TO 



ZADOCK PRATT, 

THE FRIEND OF THE MECHANI 



AND THE 



PATRON OF ALL THAT IS USEFUL 



^\)\s tDork 



IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 



PREFACE. 



Andrew Fuller once remarked that " he would rather be like 
the moon, which, although full of spots and imperfections, lends a 
useful light to men, than a meteor, with its dazzling but transient 
glare, exciting only the wonder of mankind." It was in the 
spirit of this sentiment that we compiled the following pages, 
embracing brief sketches, for the most part, of the lives of men 
who, by unwearied perseverance, have triumphed over difficulties. 
Born in an humble sphere, which precluded the advantages of 
a liberal education, we resolved, that although unable to write a 
learned work, we would attempt to produce a useful one. Hence, 
the fastidious critic who shall search for faults, will be rewarded 
with an abundant harvest. If, however, this volume shall serve 
as a hint to those so well able to write a better, a valuable end 
will have been attained. But, in the absence of such, we flatter 
ourself that the Biographical Sketch Book, with all its defects, 
will not be entirely unacceptable to a discerning public. The 
" needle," although unpolished, may yet serve to point the way 
to the " pole;" and if the examples set forth shall cheer but one 
sufferer, and enable him to wait with patience for the bright 
dawning of to-morrow, the labor will not have been in vain. 

It is hoped that the work will prove especially interesting to 
the young, inasmuch as it will furnish numerous illustrations of 
the fact, that "untiring industry will accomplish wonders;" and 
that with this for his motto, the poor clerk has become the rich 
merchant — the plow boy a legislator — the errand boy a minister 
plenipotentiary — the mechanic has exchanged his hammer for the 



4 PREFACE. 

speaker's mace — and a poor friendless youth has Idled with honor 
the presidential chaii. 

From the eventful lives of the subjects of these sketches, it will 
be seen, that as in the inorganic, so in the living and moral 
world, there is a succession of changes; and that although many 
of the bright hopes which may have been sent forth to meet the 
future, have returned, like the dove to the ark, having found no 
resting place in the weary world; yet, as has been beautifully 
observed, it is in the darkest thunder cloud that the n.ost brilliant 
lio-htning sleeps, and the tear which has flowed even in the 
anguish of despair, must, by the laws of nature, sooner or later 
reappear in the rainbow. And as the telescope has resolved the 
golden mists of the milky way into suns and systems, so one day 
shall the clouds of our existence be converted into stars. Re- 
peated troubles are sent, not as lightning on the scathed tree, 
blasting it yet more, but as the strokes of the sculptor on the 
marble block, hewing it to the image of life and moral loveli- 
ness. 11k at whose voice primeval darkness vanished, and 

The startled seas and mountains cold , 
Shone forth all bright in blue and gold, 
And cried, 'Tis day, 'tis day ! 

does not, in the course of His providence, permit affliction to 
continue but for a season, when he hangs out his " bow in the 
cloud." " Sweet are the uses of adversity." How many trans- 
cendent talents would have been lost to the world, but for reverses. 

Rills o'er rocky beds are borne, 

Ere they gush in whiteness ; 
Pcblilos iire wavc-chasod, and worn, 

Ere they show their brightness. 

Sweetest gleam the morning flowers, 

When in tears they waken ; 
Earth enjoys refreshing sliowcrs, 

When the boughs are shaken. 

It will also be seen, that although there are many thorns in the 



PREFACE. 5 

pathway of life, yet there are " corals, and pearls, and roses," 
which may be gathered by those whose hearts are attuned aright. 

Earth is not all fair, yet it is not all gloom, 

And the voice of the grateful will tell, 
That He. who allotted Pain, Death, and the Tomb, 

Gave Hope, Health, and the Bridal as well. 

hopelessly rare is the portion that 's ours. 

And strange is the path that we take, 
If there spring not beside, us a few precious flowers, 

To soften the thorn and the brake. 

The narratives will also furnish evidence of the fact, that 
most of those who have successfully battled with difficulties, are 
married men. Indeed, it will readily be granted, that as to 
efficiency in life, the bachelor cannot be compared with the mar- 
ried man. To provide for a wife and children is one of the 
greatest of all possible spurs to exertion. Many a man, says 
Cobbett, naturally prone to idleness, has become active and indus- 
trious, when he saw children growing up about him; and many a 
dull sluggard has become a bright man when roused to exertion 
by his love. To a young man, especially, nothing is so important 
as an attachment to some virtuous and amiable woman, whose 
image may occupy his heart, and guard it from the pollution 
which besets it on all sides. With justice ought we to lay at her 
feet, the laurels which, without her, would never have been 
gained. It is her image that strings the lyre of the poet, that ani- 
mates the. voice of the orator, and which urges on the hero to 
deeds of noble daring; and whatever may be the harsher feelings 
that life may develope, there is no one, however callous and con- 
strained he may have become, whose brow will not grow pensive 
at the memory of first love. 

" Bless thee, w^oman! for dark were this world without thee; 
cold and wintry without the sunlight of thy smiles; dry and 
withering even, without thy tears; harsh and perfumeless without 
the incense of thy sighs; dull and echoless without the music of 
thy voice I" 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Adams, John Quincy 298 

Allen, Stephen 210 

Angel, William G 86 

Anthon, Charles, 141 

Astor, John Jacob 272 

Banvard, John 385 

Bailey, Mrs 253 

Bayly, Thomas H 405 

Barclay, Anthony 308 

Beck, Theodoric Romeyn, 122 

Beach, Moses Y 289 

Beers, Cyrus 263 

Beers, George D 349 

Brooks, Erastus 132 

Brooks, James 309 

Bryant, William Cullen 269 

Brittan, Samuel B 270 

Burritt, Elihu 39 

Butler, Benjamin Franklin 208 

Burke, Edmund, 211 

Bush, George 263 

Buel, Jesse 311 

BuUard, Otis A 344 

Cambreleng, C. C 276 

Campbell, William W 108 

Carlin, John 352 

Cass, Lewis 408 

Clifford, Nathan 127 

Clay, Cassius M 355 

Clay, Henry 

Cooper, James Fennimore 293 

Conner, James 

Croswell, Edwin 285 

Danforth, M.J 347 

Dean, Amos 168 

Delavan, Edward C 83 

Dewey, Orville 300 



PAGE. 

Edmonds, John W 340 

Evans, Oliver 406 

Fish, Preserved 197 

Fisher, Alanson 401 

Folger, Walter 67 

Folsom, George 251 

French, Benjamin B 320 

Francis, John W 125 

Gallatin, Albert 134 

Gallatin, James 139 

Gales, Joseph 337 

Gordon, Samuel 159 

Greeley, Horace 231 

Gridley, Abraham 219 

Grinnell, Zelotis, 266 

Griffin, Orrin, 303 

Harper, James 56 

Harris, Ira 91 

Hale, David 296 

Hall, Samuel H. P 151 

Hamilton, Mrs. Alexander 326 

Hathaway, Charles 130 

Hoffman, Ogden 195 

Hone, Philip 93 

Howard, Leland, 233 

Howard, Calvin 238 

Holmes, Isaac E 400 

Hughes, John 126 

Hunt, Freeman 174 

Irving, Washington 188 

Jefferson, Thomas 348 

Jenings, Chester 317 

Johnson, Richard M 408 

Johnson, Stephen C 216 

Judson, Mrs. Emily 202 



8 



CONTENTS. 



Kemblo, Governour f^9 

Kent, James 340 

Kcttell, Thomas Prentice 166 

Knnpp, Shepherd 

Kniipp, Jacob 32S 

Lewis, Dixon H 88 

Loomis, Arphaxad 355 

Madison, Mrs 339 

March, Alden 255 

Mickle, Andrew H 142 

Morris, Robert H 214 

Morris, George P 102 

Morse, Samuel F. B 179 

Mott. Valentine 129 

Noah, Mordecai M 402 

Ogden, David B 81 

Olcott, Thomas W 157 

Parker, Amasa J 116 

PauldinfT, James K 143 

Perry, John L 336 

>'^ratt, Zadock 9 

Purdy, Elijah F 198 

Ratlibone. Samuel 398 

Richards, T . Addison 403 

Ridj,'way, Jacob 299 

Ritchie, Thomas 346 



Root, Erastus 247 

Rowo, Van Renssebier 155 

Sanford, Edward 140 

Sawj'er, William 3'<4 

Sears. Robert 62 

Spofford, Paul 252 

Southwick, Solomon 365 

Staals, Barent P 163 

Stanton, Benjamin 200 

Street, Alfred B 97 

Story, Joseph 302 

Tallmadgc, Frederick A 124 

Thorburn, Grant 181 

Van Buren, Martin 49 

Van Burcn, John 51 

Walworth, Reuben Hyde 68 

Ward, Elijah 294 

Ward, Aaron 144 

Warner, Thomas 190 

Watson, Malbone 313 

Webster, Daniel 275 

Weed, Thiu-low 359 

White, Edwin 325 

Whiting, James R 231 

Whitney, Eli 407 

Willard, Emma 224 

W^oodhull, Caleb S 367 

Wright, Silas 172 




ZADOCK PRATT, 

Late a Representative in Congress from New York. 



AMERICAN 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 



ZADOCK PRATT. 

Ho ! all who labor, all who strive ! 

Ye wield a lofty power ; 
Do with your might, do with your strength, 

Fill every golden hour. 
The glorious privilege to do 

Is man's most noble dower. 

Autumn was upon us with its " dyed garments 
of glory," and low purple clouds hung in festoons 
around the steeps, when by the crimson light of a 
setting sun, which transmuted every feature of the 
landscape into living gold, the writer first caught a 
glimpse of the beautiful village of Prattsville, as it 
lay nestled among the mountains, with its water- 
falls and fountains, elegant dwellings, churches 
and burial grounds, " green and quiet as a land of 
dreams." The extreme neatness of the place, and 
the good taste everywhere apparent, naturally led 
to inquiries as to the origin of this " gem of the 
wilderness." With what success these investiga- 
tions have been attended, will appear from the fol- 
lowing notice of the worthy founder. 

The great interest manifested in the remarkable 
career of the Hon. Zadock Pratt, and the strong 
desire of his numerous friends in all parts of the 
country, to obtain additional memorials of his life 
and character, have induced the writer to devote a 
2 



LO AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

mucli larger space to this fjentleman tlian Avas ori- 
ginally intcndetl. The fame of his incUistry and 
perseverance, and of his extensive and successful 
enterprises, is widely spread ; and thousands of in- 
telligent young men who have read of liis wealth 
and liberality, are anxious to obtain lurther parti- 
culars of his life, that they may imitate his exam- 
ple. The numerous individuals whom he has 
aided, especially those of the laboring classes, and 
the various communities and societies who have 
experienced the beneficial effects of his philanthro- 
pic spirit, will welcome this tribute to his character 
and public services. The compiler has not aimed 
at display, but has endeavored to give a succinct 
and connected narrative of an unassuming and 
patriotic citizen, who, by the force of his native 
genius, has risen from obscurity to distinction, from 
poverty to wealth, and from the workshop to the 
halls of Congress; and who, in whatever situation 
he has been, whether as the humble laborious tan- 
ner, the opulent banker, or the industrious and 
fearless legislator, has ever maintained the character 
of a straisrht forward, honest man. His life admin- 
isters a strong rebuke to the many young persons 
of romantic temperament, who look ibrward to the 
attainment of the highest ends of human liie with- 
out dreaming of the p'lce that must be paid for 
them. It affords an additional illustration of the 
truth, that it is impossible " to get somelhing for 
nolliing,'' and that the Divine declaration "thou 
shalt eat thy bread by the sweat of thy brow" has 
lost none of its force. 

Man must labor; nought is sleeping 

In the dimmest, brightest zone, 
From the worm of pninful creeping 

To the seraph on the throne. 

From the brief but interesting memoir recently 
published in the Democratic Review, it appears 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 11 

that Zadock Pratt was born on the 30th of October, 
1790, at Stephentown, Rensselaer county, New 
York, and that his family is descended from the 
noble band of pilgrims, who first broke ground on 
the shores of New England — the first persons of the 
name in this country being Joshua and Phineas 
Pratt, who came over in the autumn of 1623. 
Ephraim, a grandson of Joshua Pratt, lived to the 
great age of 116 years, and died at East Sudbury, 
Massachusetts, in May, 1804. Phineas Pratt re- 
moved from Plymouth to Charleston. John, an- 
other of the family, came over in 1633, in company 
with the celebrated Puritan divines, John Cotton, 
and Thomas Hooker; and when the church, which 
had been formed at Newtown, Massachusetts, by 
the latter, concluded to remove to Connecticut, Mr. 
Pratt was one of their number. They commenced 
their exodus in the month of June, 1636. It was 
to be through a dreary and trackless wilderness of 
more than a hundred miles. They had no guide 
but their compass; no covering but the heavens. 
There were about one hundred persons, men, wo- 
men, and children. They drove along with them 
one hundred and sixty head of cattle, subsisting on 
their march through the wilderness, upon the wild 
fruits which they found, and the milk of their cows. 
The females who were ill, or too feeble to endure 
the journey on foot, were borne in litters upon the 
shoulders of the young athletic men. The whole 
journey occupied nearly a fortnight, during which 
they had no shelter but such as they formed of the 
branches of the trees. From the worthy Puritan 
here mentioned, the families of Pratt, in Connecti- 
cut, are mostly descended. 

The father of the principal subject of this notice 
(Zadock Pratt, senior,) was a native of Saybrook, 
Connecticut; he was a tanner and shoemaker, and 
when the revolutionary Avar broke out, he shouldered 
his musket, and repaired to his country's standard. 



12 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

He was enj^afjod in several hard fought battles — 
was twice taken prisoner, and sulfered much on 
board the j)risoii ships at New York. After the 
close of tlie war, he removed to the state of New 
York, and died at Lexinfrton, Greene county, in 
1829, at the age of seventy-four. 

Mrs. Pratt survived her husband but about tliree 
years. She died in 1832, in the seventy-fourth year 
of her age. She was a woman of superior intellect 
and of high moral worth ; and her son, even at this 
late period, never speaks of her without strong emo- 
tion, as to tlie excellent princij)les instilled by her 
into his youthful mind, he justly attributes his sub- 
sequent success. 

Zadock Pratt the younger, had no education 
other than tliat atibrded by a common school. Out 
of school hours he worked hard to pay his board, 
and at a very early period he had to encounter 
many difficulties. The first money he ever earned 
was by gathering huckleberries, which lie sold for 
a few cents per quart. From this humble beginning 
he went on, adding to his little store as opportuni- 
ties permitted ; and being well aware that industry 
without frugality is comparatively useless, he hus- 
banded all he earned with unceasing care. Pur- 
suing this course with steadiness and resolution, 
and occupying all his leisure hours in making 
leather mittens and whip lashes, for which he found 
a ready market, he soon became possessed of thirty 
dollars, a large sum for a working boy, and M'hich 
he looked upon as the seed of fiiture riches. Having 
early been taught the value of ecxjnomy, he found 
as great a pleasure in saving his little earnings as 
did his thoughtless companions in spending theirs. 
While they earned only for present gratification, he 
was looking forward to the period when these trifles 
would enable him to lay the t()nndation of a pros- 
perous business, lie was subse(|U('nlly apprfMiticed 
to a saddler, named Luther Haves, of Durham 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 13 

Greene county. Here he frequently worked until 
after nine o'clock at night, and very soon, as a re- 
ward for his great industry, received from his em- 
ployer the materials for a saddle, which with the 
same persevering toil, while the other apprentices 
slept, he succeeded in finishing before the close of 
the first season. He then exchanged the saddle for 
a watch, the first he ever possessed. 

Having completed the term of his apprenticeship, 
he for some time worked as a journeyman saddler 
for his father and brother at Lexington Heights, for 
two dollars and fifty cents per week, and then com- 
menced business for himself His shop was in one 
end of an old "bark house," separated irom the mill 
by a slight partition only, and through which when- 
ever the door was opened, the bark dust entered in 
clouds. Here he labored from fifteen to sixteen 
hours per day, kept an accurate account of all his 
business operations, and yearly took a complete in- 
ventory of his little property, a custom which he 
has ever since continued. Here he bought the first 
one horse waggon that had ever been seen in that 
wild country; and not having at hand the assort- 
ment of articles required in exchange, he sat up all 
one night and made a saddle, which supplied the 
deficiency. This judicious system placed him at 
once on the road to fortune. The first year, his 
profits were over five hundred dollars; the next 
year still more, and they continued to increase. 
Feeling now quite rich, he built a little red shop, 
where in the following year his work amounted to 
twelve hundred dollars, and the next year to four- 
teen hundred dollars. His grand secret was " living 
on little." His surplus earnings were devoted to 
the purchase of an assortment of goods with which 
he furnished one end of his shop, thus turning it 
into a country store. He still carried on his work 
at the other end, and slept under the counter upon 
the rags which the thrifty housewives of the neigh 



14 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKLTCH BOOK. 

borliood oxrlianiiod witli liiin for p^oods. It wa5 
often convenient lor him to take produce in tlie way 
of trade; and in the season ibr it, he received a 
great deal of butter, most of whicli was packed 
down by Iiim after nine o'clock at ni«iht. On one 
occasion, havin<2^ taken a (juantity of produce to 
JVew York, he arrived at Calskill on his return, be- 
tween lour and live o'clock p. m., and walked home, 
a distance of thirty miles, the same nij^ht. Fear- 
less and hardy, he could, when circumstances re- 
quired, pass the whole nis^ht in the woods with 
impunity, and say, with the bold ranger of Sher- 
wood, 

My fortress is the good rrreen wood, 

'l\Iy shade the " hemlock " tree ; 
And 1 know the forest round me 

As sailors know the sea. 

Among the rules which it may be said formed 
the business creed of his life, were the trite and 
homely, but expressive maxims, which he used to 
post up in his workshop and store, and mark upon 
his account books — "Do one thing at a time" — 
"Be just and tear not" — "Mind your own busi- 
ness." Blessed with an excellent constitution, and 
an iron iiame; with an indomitable resolution and 
perseverance, which no difhculty could daunt, no 
exertion weary — labor was to him the salt of his 
existence, seasoning his daily bread, and stimulat- 
ing him to further and hii^her exertions. From 
this time his course has been uniformly onward 
and upward. 

In ISlo Mr. Pratt sold his store, just in time to 
escape the commercial revulsion, whicli shortly 
afterward followed, and which ruined the firm 
which had purchased from him. lie continued, 
however, to work at his trade, and also entered 
into a partnership with his brothers, in the business 
of tanning. The eldest, who had a wife and Ibui 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 15 

children, boarded the others; and all the expenses 
of the joint family, including doctor's bills and 
schooling, were paid out of the partnership funds. 
O that the bachelors of the present day were equally 
just ! 

During the last war with England, Mr. Pratt, in- 
heriting the patriotic spirit of his father, rallied with 
others in his vicinity, to the defence of New York, 
and the company to v/hich he was attached made 
him their steward. Then, as now, there was cor- 
ruption in office, and which needed bold, honest 
men to expose it. In the disbursement of the pub- 
lic money, great frauds were perpetrated by the 
commissioners and paymasters of the army. Mr. 
Pratt soon discovered that not a company received 
the full amount of rations provided bylaw. So 
far as his company was concerned, he was deter- 
mined to check the iniquity at once. Accordingly, 
on his next visit to the commissary, he took with 
him a few choice men, on whom he could rely in 
case of difficulty. After receiving the usual allow- 
ance of provisions, he demanded numerous other 
articles to complete the rations which he was enti- 
tled to draw. The commissary was utterly as- 
tounded at such assurance, and his astonishment 
was fully equal to that of the tyrants of the poor- 
house, when Oliver Twist, in the simplicity of his 
heart presented his little porringer and " asked for 
more." 

" I '11 tell you what !" thundered the commis- 
sary, with a scowl ; " take what you have and be 
off!" 

But he had to deal with a man not accustomed 
to " be off" without justice, and who was firm as 
a piece of his well-tanned sole leather. 

"All or none!" said Mr. Pratt; "no cheating 
soldiers, sir!" 

The commissary trembled with rage, and if looks 
could have done it, the subject of this memoir 



16 AMEIUCAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

would long ago have slept quietly in his mother 
earth — 

At his licad a green grass turf, 
And at his feet a stone. 

But finally the peculatin*!;^ officer concluded to do 
justice, and the proper supply continued to be fur- 
nished as long as Mr. Pratt was steward, although 
his successor was unable to obtain it. 

In 1821 Mr. Pratt received a commission as cap- 
tain in the 5th regiment of artillery, which in 1823 
he resigned, on receiving the appointment of colo- 
nel in the 116th regiment of inlimtry of the state of 
New York. In this position he was prompt, ener- 
getic, and liberal — a good disciplinarian, and con- 
tributed much to the improvement of the corps to 
which he was attached. When in command of his 
company, he furnished a uniform for the whole, and 
being in want of a suitable field piece, he applied 
to the governor, and succeeded in obtaining one of 
the twelve remaining to be disposed of, though 
there were thirty applicants before him. He pro- 
posed to Governor riinton, that he would mount 
the cannon at his own expense. " No, no, young 
man," said the governor, "you have already done 
enough without that." He provided the regiment 
under his command with all their music, at an ex- 
pense of some s~;2o0. 

In 1826 he resigned this latter commission, hav- 
ing no great predilection for a military lite, although 
whilst engaged in it he displayed his usual energy, 
doing nothing by halves. 

At the close of his military career, in order to gra- 
tify his regiment, he gave one hundred and twcntj- 
five pounds of powder tor the purj^osc of r<'-enarting 
the memorable battle ot" Loili, he himselt" taking an 
active part in it. The place selected was a bridge 
at Windham, adtniral)ly calcuUited for the ma- 
nouvres. The "battle" went off with great eclat, 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 17 

to the great satisfaction of the soldiers, and the 
delight of the thousands of spectators who had as- 
sembled from all parts of the county. On another 
occasion, when a sham battle was fought at Lex- 
ington Heights, Col. Pratt ordered a captain of 
infantry to march round the meeting house and 
open a fire upon the artillery. 

" Bat, Colonel," said the latter, " shall I not be 
in danger?" 

" O no," replied the Colonel, "if you are, you can 
jump up behind me." 

With this assurance of safety, the captain drew 
his sword, sprang hke a tiger from his jungle, and 
giving the word to his men, a more murderous fire 
was opened upon the unfortunate artillery, than 
has ever been recorded in the annals of "infantry." 
Nothing but the most devoted patriotism could 
have enabled the " enemy" to withstand it. 

In the winter of 1839, Col. Pratt and his elder 
brother, planned an adventure to Canada, of which 
the Colonel took charge. He was accompanied by 
three of his neighbors, with an equal number of 
teams, laden with leather, harness, and dried ap- 
ples. They went to Kingston, and from thence to 
Bellville, where they remained until spring. While 
at Kingston, their landlord picked a quarrel with 
them, and one of the party, who had drank too 
much, was determined to fight him. A crowd of 
town loafers, who had gathered round, showed 
by their conduct that the first blow would be the 
signal for a general attack, in which case the small 
company of Americans would have been overpow- 
ered by numbers, and plundered of their goods, be- 
sides risking their lives. Col. Pratt saw at once 
the danger of their situation, and, entrusting their 
belligerent comrade with the trunk which con- 
tained all their money in silver, busied himself in 
getting the teams ready for a start. As was antici- 
pated, the trunk of specie kept the peace, for the 
o 



18 AMERICAN BI0c;RA1>HICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

lioklor could not flight without lettini; it go, which 
he dared not do, lest it should be stolen. By this 
quick si<^htcd nianouvrc of the Coloiicl, the threat- 
ened collision was jjre vented and the property 
secured. Wiicn will nations remember that they 
cannot tight without endangering the safety of the 
"trunk of specie?" 

After disposing of his goods at Bellville, Colonel 
Pratt went with a couple of traders to Rice Lake, 
for the purpose of buying furs from the Indians. 
His companions took the usual Yankee notions, 
whilst he carried a knapsack well stored with 
bread, butter, and salted raw ])ork, a mitten full of 
silver dollars, and a bag of gold, sewed in a pocket 
inside his shirt, together with S^OOO in bills. 

"At noon," said he in a letter to a friend, "we 
mounted on an old oak of enormous size, which 
had been lying there for many years, and which 
seemed like a patriarch of the forest, I made a 
dinner on raw pork, and bread and butter, and a 
good dinner it was, after having traveled through 
the snow since very early in the morning. After 
dinner we went due north, but towartls evening we 
lost our way, and wandered about till night. We 
now struck up a fire in an old maple top, and 
supped upon a piece of pork, cooked upon the end 
of a stick, and washed down with cold tea. We 
next looked about for a lodging. Above was a 
clear cold sky, beneath was the clean white snow. 
I would willingly have given some of my gold 
caglf'S Ibr a barn tu sleep in. Making a virtue ol' 
n('c;ss:ty, T got together some pieces of bark, and 
laid them down upon the snow. 1 next broke up 
some bimches of maple twigs, (as there were none 
of my favorite hemlock boughs to keep olf the wind 
and cold,) and laid them round the bark. Then 
taking my silver dollars i()r a pillow, drawinir on 
my fur cap, and pulling th(^ bearskin eape of my 
coat over my head, 1 went to sleep, and slept 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 19 

soundly until morning, suffering no inconvenience 
whatever. The next day we pursued our journey, 
wandering first one way and then another, until 
about one in the afternoon, when we discovered 
the Indian track, and the same night reached a 
hut. Tlie squaw was making sugar, while John 
Snake, the Indian, was off after beaver. My com- 
panions, however, succeeded in purchasing some 
skins of the sqnaw. Their keg of whiskey was hid 
away, and they took only a small quantity with 
them, which was largely diluted with water. 
This they said was a necessary practice, for the 
squaw would sell but a few of the skins at a time, 
and required 1o be treated at each bargain; so that 
notwithstanding the weakness of the liquor, she 
soon became very drunk. This trading was all 
they were able to accomplish at that place, for 
when John Snake returned, having been unsuccess- 
ful in his hunt, he brought no furs." 

This expedition, although upon the whole suc- 
cessful, effectually cured Col. Pratt of any desire 
for further trade with the Indians. On his return 
he came by the way of Utica, having on his old 
bearskin great coat, the remainder of his apparel 
being equally shabby, and very much worn. His 
money, in gold and silver, was enclosed in a bag, 
and made up like a knapsack. On the arrival of 
the stage at the principal hotel in Albany, the land- 
lord came out, and to the passengers generally, was 
extremely polite, asking them " how they did ?" — 
"what he could do for them?" — "what they would 
have ?" etc. But when our rough looking traveler 
alighted, " mine host" eyed him askance. There 
was no " how d'ye do?" for a poorly clad customer. 
So Col. Pratt took his bag of money under his arm, 
and, uninvited, proceeded to the bar room, whilst 
the landlord was waiting upon the gentlemen into 
the parlor. On his reappearance, the Colonel in- 
quired if he could be accommodated with lodging. 



20 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

as he was desirous of goinji^ down tlie river by 
the boat in the riioriiin<i^. 

"I suj)pose you can," was the jS^rufF reply, the 
speaker no doubt wonck^inj^ at the presumption of 
sueli a meanly dressed man, in thus dariiii; to ob- 
trude hiniseir amon<r ''his betters," at the "first 
hotel," or periiaj)s thiidvin*^ of the wise ret^ulations 
of a certain eating house in London, where the 
knives and forks are chained to the table. 

"Can I have supper?" was tlie next question. 

In a low growl, the answer came, " I suppose 
you can." 

Col. Pratt bavins: previously placed his knapsack 
in the bar, called the attention of the landlord to it, 
and requested that it might be placed out of sight. 

"AMiere is it, and uhat is it?" was the snappish 
reply. 

This was very soon explained, and the landlord, 
on lifting the heavy bag of money, became suddenly 
transformed into Chesterheld himself, and so bur- 
dened the Colonel with his politeness, that the next 
morning he found it very dilHcult to get away. 
This anecdote has been fi-c^iuently related by the 
Colonel, with perfect good feeling toward the land- 
lord, as he did what many others, who believe that 
"the coat makes the man," would have done under 
similar circumstances. "But," says the Colonel, 
" it taught me that if I had money I had friends." 

Arriving at Catskill, on his way home, he was 
asked by IMr. Hall, the cashier of the bank, if he 
had heard fi-om home. " No," was the reply. 

" Your tannery is burnt to the ground," said the 
former. 

This was a heavv loss, and one which would 
have eiiectuallv discouraged a less energetic man; 
but Col. Pratt' observed, "Well, thank Cod, witi) 
industry, economy, and good health, we can build 
another;" which he and his brotln^r accordingly 
did, on a much more approved plan. How many 




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AMERIOAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 21 

would have sat down in despair, saying, " it is of 
ao use striving for I am born to bad luck" — instead 
jf adopting the motto which solves the problem of 
heroes — " Press on." 

Col. Pratt, in connection with his brother, car- 
ried on his business at Lexington, until 1824, when, 
determining upon seeking a larger field of opera- 
tions in manufacturing, he closed his business at 
that place, purchased the tract and water power 
now included in the village which bears his name, 
and commenced his operations. The forest on 
either hand, to the very tops of mountains, was a 
dense growth of hemlock, adapted to his purposes; 
communication was easy with New York, and he 
at once saw that here was the spot for him to es- 
tablish a mammoth tannery. He lost no time in 
commencing operations, and his labors were crown- 
ed with the most complete success. His establish- 
ment soon gave employment in various ways to 
more than 200 men, to all of whom he gave encou- 
ragement to settle around him. His tannery was 
500 feet long, containing over 800 vats, or about 
46,000 cubic feet of room for tanning operations; 
requiring a consumption annually of 1,500 cords 
of wood, and 6,000 cords of hemlock bark, in the 
manufacture of 60,000 sides of sole leather, which 
he annually sent to market — or, say more than a 
million of sides in the last twenty years — employ- 
ing a capital of over $250,000 a year, without a 
single litigated lawsuit. 

The plan he adopted to avoid litigation, deserves 
general imitation. It was as follows: 

For many years it has been the practice of the 
best newspapers of the principal cities to publish 
brief notices of the decisions of the courts. These 
notices Col. Pratt has always been careful to pre- 
serve, and he has a large book filled with them, 
and so arranged that he can easily refer to them. 
By daily reading, he thus acquired a sufficieni 



22 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

knowledge of the law, to enable him to steer clcai 
of the shoals and quicksands upon which so many 
have been wrecked. From these memoranda he 
discovered one fact, which if duly considered, would 
tend much to deter younjj^ men from encountering* 
the glorious uncertainty of the law. It is "that of 
the whole numixT of reported cases which had 
been atfirmed or reversed by the Supreme Court of 
the United States, up to 1830, four hundred and 
twenty-five had been affirmed, and three lumdred 
and twenty nine reversed — the affirmations being 
little more than one-half 

As the tide of prosperous business poured in upon 
him, his friends and neighbors also flourished. The 
town was rapidly settled and improved; streets 
were laid out, and ornamental tnvs planted by his 
own hands; schools were established, churches 
built, and houses and stores multiplied, until the 
village has become one of the most pleasant and 
flourishing settlements in the region of the Cats- 
kills. More than one hundred of the houses were 
erected by Col. Pratt himself; and his munificence 
is seen in all the churches and public buildings in 
the place, of which more than one-third the cost 
was defrayed from his own pocket. 

In the disposal of his lands he never speculated 
upon the wjiuls of the poor, having always sold his 
spare lots at a reasonable price; and he has furnish- 
ed inanv with a house which their unaided exer- 
tions could never have procured. He was, how- 
ever, always careful to dispose of no lot, but on the 
express condition, that no ardent spirits should be 
sold on the premises. 

The excellent quality of the manufacture of Col. 
Pratt — a result which he attained by the adoption 
of every useful improvement in the art of tanning 
leather — secured him a never tailing market. In 
l::<:i7, he and his partner (Col. A\'atson) received the 
Silver Medal, of the New York institute, for the 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 23 

best specimen of hemlock tanned sole leather — the 
first medal ever awarded for that manufacture. In 
183 9, he was elected a member of tlie American 
Institute; and in 1845, at the New York State Fair, 
he was awarded the first premium in a Diploma. 
He glories in the name of a mechanic, and is proud 
to acknowledge the quiet and laborious occupation, 
in the diligent pursuit of which he has been emi- 
nently successful, and has earned a name and sta- 
tion among his countrymen. 

In 1840, retiring in part from the more active 
business of his manufactory, Mr. Pratt employed a 
portion of his capital in the establishment of a bank 
at Prattsville, under the free banking law of the 
State of New York. A capital of $100,000, secured 
in six per cent, stocks of the United States, and of 
the State of New York, is thus employed, and has 
been found extremely useful in that mountainous 
region, its business averaging nearly $1,000,000 an- 
nually. It is one of the few institutions, the bills 
of which are kept actually at par by redemption in 
New York city. 

Col. Pratt's first step in public life may be said 
to have been his election on the democratic ticket, 
for the State of New York, as an elector of Presi- 
dent and Vice-President of the United States, in 
November, 1836. He recorded his vote, with 
those of his brother State electors, for his neighbor 
and friend, Mr. Van Buren. 

In November, 1836, he was elected one of the 
Representatives in Congress for the eighth Congres- 
sional district, in the State of New York. He suc- 
ceeded in this election, by a majority of twenty- 
seven hundred votes, the largest majority, we be- 
lieve, that was ever given in that district. He 
received very nearly the unanimous vote of the 
town of Prattsville. 

Of his services in Congress, says the Review, 
it is sufficient to say that, in that body, he earned, 



24 AMERICAN BIOURAPHICAL SKETCH BOOR.. 

the character of a JVorkinfr Mm ; tliat he jrained 
the respect of all parties in Washini^ton; and in 
his case was demonstrated th(* advatitages which 
arise from sendinsi: men of practical knowledp^e and 
business habits to Con<^ress; and how much that is 
really important to the people, may be peribrmed 
by one such man, wlio is more desirous to act than 
to speak, and who cares less for the reputation of 
perfecting a useful measure, than the solid satisfac- 
tion of feeling that he has been instrumental in its 
accomplishment. 

In July, 1738, Col. Pratt published an address to 
his constituents, declining a reelection to Congress. 
In 1842, he yielded to X\\c\r request, and was cho- 
sen to represent the eleventh Congressional district, 
composed of the counties of Greene and Columbia. 
On resuming his seat in Congress, his inquiry was 
not, " How can I make the most noise, or gain the 
greatest eclat ?" — but, " How can I do the most 
work?" He never undertook to "define his posi- 
tion," or to make a speech for Buncombe. He 
made, indeed, few speeches, and they were com- 
monly brief and plain statements of facts, which 
he knew could be relied upon. The value in any 
public body of" men, who are patient and laborious 
in their search after truth, is beyond all estifnate. 
In the words of one of our ablest political journals, 
it may truly be said, that "Colonel Pratt devoted 
himself to the utiliti/ of legislation. He has given 
his attention to political objects designed to advance 
science, the arts, commercial intercourse, the dis- 
semination of usefid knowledge, and to facilitate 
the practicable labors of the departments. Few 
men have accom{)lished as much in these im[)ort- 
ant respects as he has done in the course of i()ur 
years congressional service; and he has laid the 
foundations of good that will mature gradually 
hereafter, as views and suggestions, truly enlight- 
ened, and worthy a truly republican people and 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 25 

government, shall be brought to the popular consi- 
deration and action of Congress." 

Representing a portion of the great agricultural 
State of New York — from his youth taught to look 
upon the farming interest as the paramount pursuit 
in this country, and coming from a district where a 
very large proportion of the inhabitants find their 
profession, their pleasures and their profits in the 
noble employment of cultivating the soil, it must 
be supposed that the practical and utilitarian mind 
of Col. Pratt would dedicate a due share of its at- 
tention to the interests of agriculture. He origin- 
ated the proposition, which was finally adopted by 
Congress, providing for the introduction, through 
our consuls and national vessels, of foreign seeds 
and plants, and for their gratuitous distribution to 
all portions of the country, through the medium of 
the patent office. The beneficial effects of this 
measure have already begun to be appreciated. 

In 1842, Col. Pratt delivered an address before 
the Mechanics' Institute at Catskill, replete with 
excellent sentiments; and in 18 15, at the great fair 
of the Greene County Agricultural Society, at Cairo, 
he delivered a sound, practical address, which was 
extensively copied by the press. Few productions 
of the kind ever received more general commenda- 
tion, or a wider circulation. 

The personal habits of Col. Pratt, his attachment 
to the pleasures of home, and to the enjoyment of 
the natural delights of the family fireside, may be 
learned from the following particulars of his do- 
mestic life. 

His first wife was Miss Beda Dickerman, of 
Hampden, Ct., to whom he was united Oct. 18th, 
1818. She was a lovely woman, of amiable temper 
and true piety; but, the winter proving too severe 
for her constitution, she died of consumption, on 
the 19th of April, 1819. 



26 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

Oh! inicfhty dcnlh — in stirh 
We must not huild our hopes — in form of clay 

We Ircaj^uri' u|) too miirh ; 
For 'tis a fearful thing lo love what thoxi may'st touch. 

After four years of moiiniiii^, lie solaced his i^^rief 
by takinjr the hand of her sister, avIio had won his 
affection by the res«'nil)lance she hore, in her vir- 
tues and beauty, to the deceased. Jiut a^-^ain was 
his dweliiii^^ turned into niournin;^ by the entrance 
of the insidious prime minister of death, consinnp- 
tion, and his second wife died, at Lexins^ton, 
Greene county, on the 2-2d of April, 1S2(), in the 
31st year of her aj^e. 

Col. Pratt was united to his third wife, Miss Abi- 
gail ?. AVatson, daui,rhter of Wheeler AVatson, Esq., 
on the 12th of October, 1827. lie now looked for-- 
ward to an old ai^e, solaced by the wife of his 
youth; but a voice from the invisil)le world whis- 
pered "come away," and his companion entered 
the blessed land, where sorrow is unknown. Al- 
thou<^di bowed to the earth with this heavy trial, 
which he bore with Christian resi«rnation. he fidt 
grateful for the pos.^ession of children, uj)on whom 
he could rally and concentrate his affections — to- 
ward whom he had duties to perform — and for 
whom it was a pleasure to live, and to exercise the 
eneri^ies of his mind. They fin'uished motives for 
contimied industry and perseverance; rendered life 
still a blessin^r, and the hopes of the father cast a 
ray of sunlight into the future. One of his promis- 
ing children, however, followed her mother to the 
grave a It'W months afterwards, Th<^ survivors, a 
son and an amiable daughter, are still spjired, and 
furnish every hope that the latter years of their pa- 
rent juav be crowned with the su])reme joy of a 
father's heart, vi/: the knowledge that his exam- 
ple, his care, and his anxieties, have not horn 
wasted. May his fond wishes be fulfilleil lo the 
utmost. 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 27 

Col. Pratt entered into wedlock a fourth time, on 
the 16th of March, 1835, when he married Miss 
Mary E. Watson, a sister of his third wife. 

Alluding to his married life, in a letter to a friend, 
he says: "It has rarely fallen to the lot of man to 
say that he has had three of the best women for his 
wives, and that he is now living with the fourth, 
equally good. It may be most truly said of my de- 
ceased wives, that they were Christian companions, 
with whom I lived in the greatest conjugal happi- 
ness; and of my present most amiable consort, that 
she is in every way worthy to succeed them in the 
affections of a devoted husband, and every way 
calculated to promote his happiness." 

From his youth to the present time. Col. Pratt 
has adhered to the good old rule, " early to bed and 
early to rise," always retiring by nine o'clock, and 
rising with the sun. The writer once heard him 
remark, that he never lost a single night's sleep in 
the course of his life. How many dreaming aspi- 
rants for wealth and honor are there, who can only 
speak of sunrise as an historical fact, nevej attested 
by their own observation ! 

The following incidents, selected from many 
others equally interesting, will serve to exhibit the 
character of the subject of our notice : 

When the destructive fire occurred at Hudson, in 
1844, reducing many families to great destitution 
and suffering, Col. Pratt immediately sent $200 for 
their relief It was the first money received, and 
afforded another illustration of the rnaxim, that "he 
who gives soon, gives twice." 

In 1845, the Bible Society of Greene County fur 
nished a Bible to every family which did not pos 
sess one. The expense of this distribution, in his 
own town, was defrayed by Col. Pratt, who also 
gave a large and handsome copy for the pulpit of 
each church. 

In the fall of 1845, as he was passing up the road 



28 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

from Pratlsvillc to visit a neighbor, lie was accosted 
by a lad wlio said lie had traveled on foot from 
New York city, haviiijjf <j^one there to assist a drover 
with a ilock of shcej) — that on rcachiiii^ the city, 
his cnijilovcr haviiiii:^ made an unl<)rlunate s|)ecula- 
tion, cruelly turned him adrill without a cent, to 
iind his way home at Oneonla. J'lie poor lellow 
said "he felt rather bad about it ; but, upon tlie 
whole, as he had got alon^^ so tar, he thou<Tht it 
was of no use to despond." Col. I*ratt, desirous of 
encouraiiin<2: the boy's resolution never to yield to 
despondency at any ill luck or injustice, gave him 
a check on his bank, for a sum of nioney. Having 
with him neither pen nor ink, the Colonel picked 
lip a tiat stone and scratched the check upon its 
surface. This being presented, was paid at the 
counter of the bank. 

He has often remarked, that although sometimes 
imposed upon by his accpiaintances, he could gene- 
rally tietermine the trust- worthiness of a stranger at 
tirst sight. 

In 1843, soon after the establishment of his bank, 
a drover came along with al)Out two hundred cat- 
tle. He entered the bank and asked lor Col. Pratt. 
" There he is," replied the cashier. The drover 
then stated that he was short of money, and desired, 
allliouiih a stranger, to borrow SlOO, until he could 
drive his cattle to Westchester county, when he 
would remit the amount. 

"Let him iiave it, cashier," said Col. Pratt, "the 
man has a good countenance." 

" But," said the stranger, " you do not know my 
name " 

" ^\'e shall soon see that, when you sign the re- 
rei[)t." was the reply, as Col. P. walked out to at- 
tend to other business. 

The honorable drover was Mr. Oscar Brown, of 
Westchester, who liuthfully kept his word. 

It was always the custom of Col. Pratt to say to 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 29 

his workmen, "come on," instead of "go on;*' in- 
variably taking upon himself those parts of the labor 
which were most disagreeable, and which required 
the greatest exposure. He has thus frequently 
stood in water all day, even in very severe wea- 
ther. His temperate habits and hardy frame pre- 
served his health unimpaired, amidst hardships 
which could have been borne but by few. At one 
time, during the building of a dam, a new hand, 
who had not yet entered into the spirit of the es- 
tablishment, exhibited so much indolence as to at- 
tract the Colonel's especial attention. After dinner 
the latter took a coffee pot, and with a most com- 
miserative look, said: 

"Here, my friend; perhaps you would like to 
take this coffee pot and catch grasshoppers, to feed 
my fish in the artificial pond yonder, rather than to 
work with the rest?" 

" Certainly, sir," said the drone, as he took 
the coffee pot, and, with the agility of a grasshopper, 
threw himself over the fence into an adjoining 
meadow, no doubt wondering why he had so soon 
become a favorite. 

Grasshopper No. 1 w^as soon caught and deposit- 
ed in the coftee pot, " for safe keeping, and other 
purposes." Grasshopper No. 2 soon followed ; but, 
as No. 2 went in. No. 1 jumped out; thus mimick- 
ing office holders under different administrations. 
But, nothing daunted, our hero performed wonder- 
ful feats of agility in seizing his prey, exhibiting the 
most surprising presence of mind in shutting down 
the lid of the pot just at the critical moment, catch- 
ing his prisoners "on the hip." He was not, how- 
ever always successful; and, after several consecu- 
tive vexatious mishaps, he sat down to repose on the 
laurels previously won. But, observing a very pe- 
culiar expression upon the faces of the workmen, a 
new idea entered his brain, and he quickly compre- 
hended the joke. In a great rage, he immediately 



30 AMERICAN DIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

arose, daslicd tJie coffeo pot to tlie «j^round, strode 
away witli disdain, and made tracks to parts un- 
known. To " work or catch <^rasslioi)pcrs," has 
now become a proverb in the tannery. 

AVhile in Conij^ress, Coh Pratt havini];^ made some 
motion rehitive to the removal of the unsif^htly 
hnildin<r in which tlie statue of Wnsliinirton w;is 
immured, 3Ir. C. J. Intrersoll, in a vein ofph^asant- 
ry, observed, " tliat tlie honorable chairman of the 
committee on public building's would do well first 
to enclose the statue of the Indian lady, adjoinin<2^ 
that of Columbus, the extreme scantiness of whose 
drapery had been severely commented upon by the 
press. 

Col. Pratt instantly replied, that so delicate a 
dutv could with peculiar fitness be assio^ned to the 
gentleman himself, who, if rumor spoke correctly, 
was a ii^reat adept at " enclosiufr^" the fair sex. 

At this happy retort, the house was convulsed 
with laughter, it being well known that the head 
of the committee on foreign afibirs held it as a 
sacred duty to his country, and to himself^ never to 
run away from the ladies, but on the contrary, when 
opportunity olfered, 

To draw 
In one long kiss, their whole soul through 
Their lips, as sunlight drinketh dew. 

On the face of the high rocks at the entrance of 
Prattsville, the eye of the stranger is attracted by 
several carved figures. TluMr origin is as follows: 

A stone cutter, seeking (Muployment, called upon 
Col. Pratt, and proposed to cut upon the rock, a 
bust of the Colonel, together with views of the tan- 
nery, etc. Struck with th(^ novelty of the idea, and 
being ever ready to encourage men williui^to labor, 
the proposition was assented to, and how well the 
artist has succeeded is evident to every beholder. 
JSome, ignorant of the peculiar circumstances of the 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 31 

case, have attributed vanity as the motive; but 
Gol. Pratt had a more elevated object in view. He 
looked forward to the time when, from the rapid 
consumption of timber, the whole region will be 
left without a tree, and when the traveler, a centu- 
ry hence, will gaze with wonder upon an inscrip- 
tion that, in the middle of the nineteenth century, 
a million of hides of sole leather were tanned from 
bark gathered on the spot, by Zadock Pratt, in 
twenty years. 

Col. Pratt's services in Congress were eminent- 
ly practical. He was one of the earliest advo- 
cates of the cheap postage reform, moving a 
resolution to that effect in 1838; and the in- 
formation and statistics which he brought to bear 
upon the question, contributed in no small de- 
gree to the ultimate success of the measure. 
He submitted a valuable report on the improve- 
ment of the public grounds at Washington, to- 
gether with a beautiful design, by himself, for a 
national monument to AVashington. He also advo- 
cated, with hearty zeal, the remission of the fine, 
paid by the late President Jackson. In both con- 
gresses of which he was a member, he was an 
earnest advocate of, and introduced the bill for the 
establishment of a branch mint in New York. 

The funds arising from the fees for patents, hav- 
ing accumulated to nearly $150,000, Col. Pratt in- 
troduced a resolution to provide for the publication 
and engraving of all the important inventions pa- 
tented at Washington, for the purpose of having 
copies of those works distributed to every town 
throughout the country, for the information of the 
peo])le. Another resolution of great practical im- 
portance, introduced by Col. Pratt, and adopted by 
Congress, was that which requires an inventory of 
the public property in the hands of the public 
agents, to be made out once in two years, and re- 
ported to Congress. 



32 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

But the *Troat measure to which he directed his 
attention, and urj^ed upon tliat of Cong^ress, was 
the estahUsliinent of a hureau of statistics. In Jan- 
uary, 1844, lie moved tiie j)rej)aratory inquiry, 
throuj^h a select committee, and on the sth of 
March, he presented a luminous report in favor of 
the establishment of the bureau, with a bill pre- 
scribing its ori^^anization and duties. The n'j)ort 
was accompanied by several elaborate statistical 
tables, ilhistratin^^ the plan of the proposed bureau, 
and the mode of renderinii: efficient and serviceable 
its operations. The public press throughout the 
Union was unanimous in favor of the plan, but the 
only step which Col. Pratt could induce Cong^ress 
to take, was the transfer of three clerks for this ser- 
vice in connection with one of the bureaux of the 
treasury department. It is to be hoped, however, 
that his plan will be filled up in every particular, 
as its adoption would be the means of saving mil- 
lions to the country. 

In 1839, he presented a report upon the quality 
of the different materials used in the construction 
of tlie public buildings at AVashington — uri^ing the 
policy and eventual economy of substituting mar- 
ble or granite lor the fragile and porous sandstone 
hitherto used. He demonstrated the propriety of 
the change with such force as to break down tlie 
opposition to the white marble, of which he propos- 
ed that the new General Post Office buildins" 
should be constructed. "It is to the untiring j)er- 
severance of tliis gentleman," said the Washington 
Ulobe, "that we are mainly indebted lor this beau- 
tiful sj)ecimen of the mechanic arts." And it may 
truly be said that this bcniutil'ul edifice, unsurpassrd 
by any thing of the kind in the world, is his monu- 
ment. 

He presented the memorial of Asa AVhitney, for 
aid in the construction of a national rail road, con- 
necting the Atlantic and Pacific. Col. Pratt be- 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 33 

lieved the plan, though a stupendous one, was fea- 
sible, and that, once completed and properly man- 
aged, the road would become the great highway of 
nations. (In a recent address to the people of the 
United States, on this subject, he has presented an 
array of facts in favor of the project, which cannot 
easily be controverted.) 

In February, 1845, he made a report on the ex- 
tension of American commerce to Japan and Co- 
rea. This interesting document was extensively 
copied by the press. He proposed that measures 
should be taken to eifect commercial arrangements 
similar to those with China, with the empire of Ja- 
pan, containing a population of 50,000,000, and the 
kingdom of Corea, having nearly 20,000,000 of in- 
habitants — believing that it would result in great 
and permanent advantages to this country. 

He introduced the bill, which has since become 
a law, providing for the appropriation of the Smith- 
sonian fund for improvement in agriculture, me- 
chanics and literature, so as to benefit the people of 
all the states. He was also one of the most effi- 
cient advocates of the bill providing for a dry dock 
at Brooklyn, New York. 

Many other important propositions were submit- 
ted by him, from time to time, which we have not 
space to enumerate. To do so, and justice to him, 
would require a volume. Some idea, however, of 
his indeflitigable industry, while in Congress, may 
be formed from the fact, that the reports he made 
to the 28th Congress, cover more than a thousand 

PAGES. 

As an illustration of the perseverance of Colonel 
Pratt, when he has any useful object in view, it 
may be mentioned, that when he urged his propo- 
sition for building anew the war and navy depart- 
ments, a southern member of distinguished ability 
and influence, who was opposed to the bill, object- 
ed, because, he said, the committee had not sub- 



5 



34 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

mhlcd with thoir report the necessary pkins and 
estimai'es. Col. Pratt reminded the gentleman, that 
his objection mnst tall to the fi^round, as the plan 
and estimates were before the House; and taking 
them from tbe clerk's desk, he exhibited them to 
the objecting member; and the House, laughing at 
his objections, immediately passed the bill. 

Before the inauguration of Mr. Polk, Col. Pratt 
m-ged tlie House for an appropriation to provide 
new turniture for the President's mansion. The 
old curtains and furniture were worn and shabby. 
The House seemed reluctant to respond, when Col. 
Pratt took the responsibility of ordering a new suit 
of curtains to be furnished, telling the upholsterer 
that if Congress did not pay the bill he would. The 
thing was done. A few days alter, a southern 
member complained of Col. Pratt, that he had acted 
without authority. The Colonel promptly replied 
that he had ordered the curtains on his own author- 
ity, and if objections were made from any quarter, 
he should pay for them from his own funds. And 
he would respectfully ask the objecting member if 
he had ever done as much for his country as that? 
The laugh was turned upon the member, and the 
appropriation asked for was passed. 

At the close of the twenty-eighth Congress, Col. 
Pratt declined a reelection, in a very able address 
to his constituents, rendering a faithful account of 
his stewardship, and he is now engaged in the bu- 
siness of a banker, at Prattsville. He is still in the 
prime of life, enjoying unbroken health, and full of 
mental and bodily vigor, and has every prospect of 
living to achieve much good, as he possesses both 
the power and the will so to do. It maybe said of 
him, that the great object of his life has been prac- 
tical usefulness. He desired to leave the world 
something better than he found it. He has been 
eminently successful in all his enterprises — has pre- 
served a character spotless for integrity and honor — 



AMERICAN Biographical sketch book. 35 

and in the relations of a neighbor and friend, has 
no superior. As a citizen, he has done much for 
the public good ; and, as a sound, practical, un- 
swerving advocate of the interests of the working 
classes, has never been found wanting. 

Adopting the language of the Review, we will 
add, that in selecting the founder of Prattsville as 
the subject of this memoir, we have been actuated 
by a desire to do merited honor to that noble and 
enterprising spirit, which marks the characteristic 
of the man, and to spread before the rising genera- 
tion of our great and happy country, the benefits of 
his example. He stands out in bold relief, first 
making his fortune inactive business, and then aid- 
ing in the councils of hi« country; and of him it 
was said, none more useful. History is said to be 
philosophy teaching by example, and history, after 
all, is but the record of the deeds of men. The 
life of the hero, who has led conquering armies, 
may be written, and while every one may honor- 
his bravery, not one in a million can hope to bene- 
fit from his example. The lives of statesmen, of 
poets and philosophers, what are they, unless they 
show something practical to the world, something 
true and tang^Dle, adapted to the feelings and pur- 
suits of the masses? The life of one practical man 
like Franklin, Whitney, Slater, or Fulton, is 
worth more than all the Greek and Roman heroes 
that ever existed. These men became world-re- 
nowned, because they possessed, in an eminent de- 
gree, true energy, which, after all, is one of the 
chief elements of greatness. Their characters were 
self-formed — they rose from the masses, and as you 
follow them step by step, you see how they rose 
gradually to distinction; how the benefits they at 
last conferred on mankind grew up to perfection in 
the school of early trial, self-reliance, and never- 
failing energy. We have the best of authority for 
saying, that " Faith without Works is dead." If 



36 AMERICAN BfOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

this be true iti spiritual thinf^s, it is equally true in 
temporal. The world is full of visionaries, and ac- 
counts of visionary men; but how little is written 
of the useful, practical, energetic, common-sense 
man. 

We regard the career of Zadock Pratt as in many 
respects a reniarkable one, and therefore we have 
chosen him for the subject of this memoir. If it be 
asked, what has he done? we might almost be dis- 
posed to answer by asking, what has he not done 
that the young men of the country should emulate ? 
If we look back to his youth, we see him toiling to 
aid his parents, then the faithful apprentice to a 
saddler, always diligent, trusty and true. We see 
him as he approached inanhood, exhibiting the en- 
ergy and perseverance which have marked his cha- 
racter through life. As the business man, we see 
with what sterling integrity, admirable judgment 
and sagacity, always successful, from little to much, 
his aliairs were conducted ; how he breasted him- 
self to every emergency, relying upon his own reso- 
lute heart and never idle hand, and the blessing of 
God, who has promised to help those who help 
themselves. We have seen him toiling for a com- 
petence, that he might do good, aidiug others as he 
went along. We have seen with what courage he 
could endure the severest labors and exposures, 
even sleeping upon the snow, in pursuit of objects 
which he deemed essential to his prosperity and 
future usefulness. Conceiving the plan of estab- 
lishing a great tannery, we see him plunging into 
the deep forests on the Catskill, and choosing with 
admirable judgment, a location for his works which 
is unrivalled, and can never again be equalled. 
This great establishment, under his auspices and 
persevering energy, we have seen grow up to be 
the largest of the kind in the world. Not only so, 
but we have seen this humble, pains-taking, labor- 
ing mechanic, ahnost with a magician's wand, 



'O ••»v,v...v....^, ......wv^. ., .vw ^ "'"O' 



AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 87 

erect a beautiful and prosperous town, in every 
public building and religious institution of Avhich 
are seen the marks of his liberality. We have seen 
him building his hundred houses — the poor boy, 
whose first money was earned in picking huckle- 
berries upon the Catskill mountains. When he 
came to settle in the little valley where the village 
now stands, he told the few inhabitants that he 
came to live among them, not upon them. He has 
kept good his word. He has accumulated a large 
fortune, never by impeding, but rather aiding the 
course of others — never pulling down any man, and 
without ever making a single enemy of any honor- 
able man. 

It has been said, that one of the best governors 
who ever ruled in Massachusetts, was an unedu- 
cated man. He was practical and sound in his 
views ; knew the rights of the people, and respected 
them ; knew their wants, and as far as possible pro- 
vided for them. To him belongs the glory of first 
introducing free schools into that colony. 

Colonel Pratt, though enjoying no advantages of 
early education, is not insensible to its importance, 
and has always been the fast friend and liberal pa- 
tron of schools and institutionsof learning, morality 
and religion. As a military man, we have seen 
him ever the friend of the soldier, and standing up 
nobly for the soldier's rights, and always the favor- 
ite of his company or regiment. We have seen 
him as the magistrate and supervisor, respected and 
honored, as the choice of the people for elector of 
President and Vice-President, and twice elected, 
with uncommon unanimity, to the Congress of the 
United States. In that great body, we have seen 
him nobly sustain his character of the working man, 
earning the respect of all parties, and having the 
most entire confidence of his own. In short, we 
have seen him fill with distinguished ability the 
three positions of Farmer, Banker, and L- gislator 



38 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BOOK. 

Well, tlioii, may it be said of him, that no man did 
more for the <]:ood of the people; and when tlie 
judi^ment of tlie country shall be pronounced on 
his labors, it will be shown that no man orijj^inated 
so many ^reat and iinportant measures, whether 
we regard them in the li<^ht of economy, or of their 
ultimate ellect upon the interests of le<!;islation and 
of the people. AVe have seen that he labored in 
this j^^reat field, as he has always done, for the true 
interests of the farmer and mechanic, and for the 
workinji:; classes generally — proving himself equal to 
his business, and never above it, here or elsewhere. 
As the light and vivifying rays of the sun bring 
forth the early blossoms and rich fruits of the earth, 
scattering plenty and blessings around — so may it 
truly be said, that the honest man, who determines 
to be useful, and perseveres against whatever ob- 
stacle, giving employment to, and aiding the efforts 
of those around him, is the almoner of God's bounty 
to his fellow men. And it is no deterioration of the 
merits of the hero, the statesman, or the politician, 
to say, that the straight-forward useful man, upright, 
energetic, and liberal, is the noblest of them all — 
"an honest man's the noblest work of God." Such 
a man is Zadock Pratt; and his examples of in- 
dustry and fidelity, perseverance and public spirit, 
as well as generosity, we would recommend to the 
observation of the youth of our land. Of him it may 
be truly said, when we review his plain, unosten- 
tatious and honorable career — marked by liberality 
in thought and deed — that he is one of " Nature's 
Noblemen" — an architect of his own fortunes — 
and truly a Man of the People. 



APPENDIX. 



cimoxoLOGY OF Tin: lis e of hon. zadock phatt. 

1790, Oct. 30. Born at Stephentown, Rensselaer county, New- 
York, and in his early days worked with his father at tanning, at 
Middleburgh, Schoharie county, N. Y. 

1799. Was at the funeral of Gen. Washington. 

1802. Removed to Windham, now Lexington, Greene county, 

N. Y. 

1810. Apprenticed to Luther Hays, a saddler, in Durham. 

1811. Worked at his trade a year as a journeyman saddler, 
at $ 10 a month. 

1812. Commenced business on his own account in Lexington, 
as a saddler, working from fourteen to sixteen hours a day. Here 
he commenced keeping an inventory, which he ever practiced af- 
terwards during life, making over $500 dollars the tirst year, and 
never less a sinole vear afterwards. 

1814. Adds merchandizing to his saddling, and by diligence 
and the strictest economy, is successful. 

1814. W^ent as a soldier for the defence of New York city, 
then menaced by the fleets of the enemy; while there, he resists 
the corruption of the commissary, and forces him to do justice to 
the soldiers. 

1815. Sells out his stock in trade, and is fortunate in es- 
caping loss from the commercial revulsion which followed the 
peace; forms a partnership with his two brothers, in tanning. 

18 18, Oct. 18th. Is married to Miss Beda Dickerman, of Hamp- 
den, Conn., who died 19th April, 1819. 



2 APPENDIX. 

1818, Dec. Miikes a voyai^e by sea to Charleston, S. C; sea- 
sick going, anil sea-sick coining; learnt enough ot sea-taring lile. 

1821, April 21. Unanimously chosen Captain in the lil'tii re- 
giment of New York State Artillery — and unitbrms the company 
at his own expense. 

1821. In the winter of this year, makes an excursion to Ca- 
nada, for the purchase of furs, during which he encamps in the 
"wooils upon the snow. Returning, is taken by a landlord at Al- 
bany to be a wanderer, not entitled to hospitality, on account of 
his worn and soiled garments, but who on linding him possessed 
of a heavy bag of dollars, suddenly becomes the pink of polite- 
ness to our traveller. 

1822. July 12th. Is unanimously elected Colonel of the 116th 
regiment of infantry of the State of New York. 

1823. Is married to his second wife. Miss Esther Dickerman, 
sister to his fust wife; she died 22d April, 1S2G. 

1824. Is appointed Justice of the Peace for the county of 
Greene. 

1825. Built his great tannery in the woods of Windham, 
where has since grown up under his auspices the flourishing vil- 
lao-e of Prattsville, now numberincc 2000 inhabitants, as inikistri- 
ous, prosperous and happy as any in the State — having now three 
churches, to the expense of each he contributed one third, and 
one half to the Academy. 

1825. Escorts Gen. Lafayette into Catskill. 

1826. Sept. 4th. Resigns his commission as Colonel of Militia 
to the Governor of the State. 

1S27, Oct. 12th. Is married to his third wife, Miss Abigail 
P. Watson. She died. 

1827. Is elected Supenisor of the town of Windham. 

1825 — 1835. This was the busy season of life, from 35 to 45 
years of age, during which he accumulated a large portion of his 
wealth. 

1832. The town of Windham divided, and the name of 
Prattsville given to one portion. 

1835, March 16th. Married his fourth wife, Miss Mary E. 
Watson, sister of his third consort. 

1836, March. Builds a bridge over Schoharie kill, the snow 
three feet deep in the woods, in eleven days, witiiuut the use of 
ardent spirits. 



APPENDIX. 3 

1836, Nov. Is elected a Representative in Congress from the 
Eighth Congressional District of New York. At the same elec- 
tion was chosen one of the Electors of President and Vice Presi- 
dent from New York, and gave his vote for Van Buren and John- 
son. 

1837, Sept. 4th. Takes his seat in Congress at the extra ses- 
sion, called by Mr. Van Buren. 

1837, Sept. 14th. Is apppointed one of the standing commit- 
tee on the militia. 

1837, Oct. Receives (with his partner. Col. Watson) the sil- 
ver medal of the New York Institute, being the first ever granted 
to a tanner, for the best specimen of hemlock tanned sole leather. 

1837, Dec. 11. Is appointed one of the standing committee 
on public buildings and grounds. 

1838, March 11. Moved a resolution in favor of the reduc- 
tion of postage. This was the great and favorite measure of his, 
which he rejoiced to see accomplished, and which was so benefi- 
cial to the whole United States. 

1838, March 12. Presented the resolution of the State oi 
New York, and submitted a resolution providing for procurin^^ 
foreign seeds and plants, to be distributed gratuitously to th. 
farmers of the United States, through the medium of the Paten 
Office, to benefit farming interests. 

1838, July 4th. Publishes an address to his constituents, par- 
tially reviewing the proceedings in Congress and declining a re- 
election. 

1839, Jan. 28. Moved a resolution of inquiry respecting th 
material of which the public buildings at Washington are con 
structed. 

1839, Feb. 25th. Presented a report on the quality of th 
materials used in constructing the public buildings at Washing 
ton, concluding with a resolution that the material hereafter use« 
for that purpose, shall be of the hardest and most durable kind 
either marble or granite. At the same time he submitted a pla 
and estimates for the new Geneial Post-Office, and that buildinj 
the finest in Washington, has since been erected of marble, a 
cording to his plan, and is said to be the finest building in ' 
world. 



4 APPENDIX. 

1839, March 1. Delivers a speecli in tlie Mouse of Represen- 
tatives, on the subject of constiuctinq; a Dry Dock at Brooklyn, 
full of valuable statistics, on coujuierce, navitration, imports, ex- 
j)orts and bullion, for ten years. 

1S39. Moved the bill for establishing; a Branch Mint in the 
city of New York. 

1S39, Julv 4. Delivers an oration at Prattsvillc. 

1839. Oct. 25. Oilers five thousand dollars to entlow an Aca- 
demy in Praltsville, on condition that the like sum be raised by 
any Christian denominatiou. 

1842, Nov. Is chosen a Representative in Congress from the 
Eleventh Congressional District of New York. 

1842, Dec. 29, Delivers an address before the Mechanics' 
Society at Catskill. 

1843, Establishes a Bank at Prattsville, with $1(){),000 capital, 
■wholly secured by 6 and 7 per cent, stocks of the United States and 
State of New York — its bills kept at par in tlie city of New York. 

1844, Jan, 3. Offers resolution providinc: for uniform annual 
returns of banks, suitable forms to be furnished by the Secretary 
of the Treasury. 

1844. Jan. 8. Moved a resolution in favor of the remission of 
the fine upon Gen. Jackson, and to place on record the fact, that 
fifteen out of seventeen millions of inhabitants of the United 
States had so instructed their delegations in Congress. 

1844, Jan. 12. Gives notice of offering a bill for establishing 
a Branch Mint at New York; same day, gave notice for bill 
amendini'" naturalization laws, which were afterwards presented. 

1844, Jan. 29. Moved the appointment of a select committee 
to incjuire into the expediency of establishing a buieau of Statis- 
tics and Commerce, in connection with ihe Secretary of the 
Treasurv. Is appointed chairman of said committee. 

1844, Jan. Elected President of the Greene County Agricul- 
tural Society. 

1844, Feb. ^Yas on board the Princeton at the time of the 
explosion of its great gun, when Messrs. Upsher, (iilmer, and 
others were killed — and was the first man who had nerve, and 
was collected enou<:h to attend at once to the care of the unfortu- 
nate killed and w(juniled. 



APPENDIX. p 

1844, March 7. Makes a report on the application of the 
citizens of Washington to have a clock furnished at public ex- 
pense. 

1844, March 7. Makes report on the situation, cost, &c., of 
the public buildings and grounds, and expenditures of the Presi- 
dential Mansion. 

1844, Mach 8. Submits a report as chairman of the select 
committee on the Bureau of Statistics and Commerce, with valua- 
ble tables, showing the loans and discounts of the banks, imports 
and expoits, and balance of trade, for a series of years, of our 
government with other nations, illustrating the importance of the 
proposed measure and concluding with a bill to provide for the 
collection of national statistics. 

1844, March 18. Moved resolution respecting care and raan- 
afrement of the furnaces used to heat the halls and rooms of the 
Capitol. 

1844, April 12. Offers joint resolution for the appropriation 
of the public ground for a National Monument. 

1844, April 12. Reported bill for an addition of a wing to 
the Patent Office. 

1844, May 15. Moved joint resolution authorizing the trans- 
fer of certain clerks in the treasury department to perform the du- 
ties of the bureau of statistics, agreeably to the report of the select 
committee on that subject. 

1844, May 24. Makes report, with plan and estimates, on the 
proposed change of the Hall and Library of the House of Repre- 
sentatives. 

1844, May 25. Makes report on expenditures in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, from the foundation of the government, show- 
ing an expenditure exceeding ten millions of dollars. 

1844, May 25. Makes report on the Monument Squaie, sub- 
mitting a plan, diagram, and drawing for a National Monument 
to Washington. 

1844, May 25. Moved joint resolution requiring an inventory 
once in two years, of public property to be returned from all per- 
sons having any in charge. 

1844, May 25. Moved joint resolution providing for the lay- 
ing out and fencing the Monument Square. 



6 APPENDIX. 

1844, June 5. OlTers joint resolution providing for the mode 
of makint; returns of public property in j)ot>S)ei>iiion of otiicers of 
the government. 

1S44, Juno 7. Moved a joint resolution for the preparing and 
distribution of the nulional medals to the state libraries, colleges, 
and academies. 

1844, June 7. Moved resolution providing that monuments 
hereafter erected to deceased members of Congress, should be con- 
structed of marble instead of sandstone, heretotbre used. 

1844, June 7. Moved a resolution directing topographical bu- 
reau to cause a plan of the city of Washington, and views of the 
capitol and public buildings to be engraved, and copies to be sent 
a.s presents by ministers and consuls, to foreign courts. 

1844, June 17. Makes report on the errors in the sixth cen- 
sus. 

1844, December 4. Moved a resolution authorizing the secre- 
tary of war to loan marques and tents to state agricultural socie- 
ties for their fairs. 

1844, December 26. Introduced joint resolution providing for 
periodical renewals and greater security of bonds of ])ublic olhcers. 

1844, December 31. Moved joint resolution providing for the 
selection of a site for the National Washington Alonument. 

1845, January 10. Reports bill providing for the painting, 
repairing, &,c., of the Presidential Mansion, and other public 
buildings. 

1845, January 28. Offers joint resolution for the preservation 
of flags, and other trophies taken in battle. 

1845, Jamiary 28. Makes report on national trophies, accom- 
panied with the above resolution. 

1845, January 28. Makes report, with plans and drawings, 
and estimates for the War and Navy Department. 

1845, January 28. AVith introductory remarks presents the 
memorial of Asa Whitney, on the iruportance of a National Rail 
Road to the Pacific. 

1845, January 2S. Submits report on the ventilation of the 
Representatives' Hall, and to prevent the echo so much complained 
of by speakers. 



APPENDIX. 7 

1845, February 7. Submits additional report on the import- 
ance of a statistical bureau. 

1845, February 15. Submits proposition for the extension of 
American commerce, and proposing a mission to Corea and Japan, 
a people of over seventy millions, with whom we have no commu- 
nication, and whose ports our ships are not allowed to enter. 

1845, February 21. Moved resolution for the appointment of 
three commissioners to investigate the public departments and 
bureaus at Washington, with a view to a better organization, and 
an equalization of duties and salaries of public officers. 

1845. Moved estimates and plan for erecting dwellings for 
the five heads of departments, opposite the Presidential Mansion. 

1845, February 25. Makes report on the statistics of the 
United States, the population, revenue, production, and showing 
the relative condition of the northern and southern states. 

1845, February 25. Makes a report on the national edifices 
at Washington. 

1845, February 26. Reports a bill for amendment of the na- 
turalization laws. 

1845, February 28. Moved a bill respecting the Smithsonian 
Institute, the substance of which has since become a law, provid- 
ing that a portion of the income of the Smithsonian fund should 
be appropriated for the improvement of agriculture and the me- 
chanic arts. 

1845, March 3. Makes report on the salaries of all the officers 
employed at Washington, showing the amount received by each 
and the states from which they w^ere appointed. 

1845, March 3. Makes report on the duties upon imports and 
tonnage and revenue, by states showing the amount collected each 
year, from the foundation of the government. 

1845, March 3. Makes report on a proposed new mode of 
taking the yeas and nays in the house. 

1845, March 5. In an address to his constituents, reviewing 
his acts while in Congress, and giving an account of his steward- 
ship, he declines a reelection to Congress. 

1845. Offers resolution providing for the engraving of patents, 
and their distribution to every county in the United States, for 
the benefit of the mechanics, to whom those inestimable plans are 
now like a sealed book. 



8 APPENDIX. 

1840. Moves a bill providirif^ for the establishment of the free 
bankint^ system in the District of Columbia, similar to the free 
bankin|r law of New York. 

1845. OtFers a resolution callinp; on tlie secretary of state to 
furnish the statistics of Texas, pending her admission into the 
Union. 

1S4G. Closed the concerns of his tannery at Prattsville, after 
tanniii!^ near a million sides of sole leather, usint^ one hundred 
and lifty thousand cords of bark, from ten stpiare miles of bark 
land, one thousand years of labor, and some §6,()0(),0U<) of money, 
without a lititrated law-suit. 



s 



1846. Elected honorary member of the Louisiana State Agri- 
cultural and Mechanics' Association. 

1847, March. With a view of acquiring, from personal obser- 
vation, a practical knowledge of the peculiar institutions of the 
south, as compared with those of the north, makes a tour through 
the whole of the southern and south-western states. 

1847, August 28. Addresses a letter to the people of the 
United States, on the importance of a Rail Road across the Conti- 
nent to the Pacihc ocean. 

1847, September 23. Delivers an address at the dedication of 
the Spencertown Academy. 

184S, .January 4. Delivers a lecture before the Mercantile 
Library Association of the city of Hudson. 

184S. Communication in answer to an enquiry of the Ame- 
rican Institute, explaining the system of the Prattsville tannery, 
of its management, and the extent of its operations. 

1848. Report to the N. Y. State Agricultural society, as pre- 
sident of the Greene County Agricultural society, giving the 
geology, agricultural and commercial statistics of the county of 
Greene. 




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